Refrigerator car



"milled Dec: 26, 19397 REFRIGERATOR cA chimes E. Crede,, Chicago, 111., assignor to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company', Chicago, IlL, a corporation of Delaware Application August 13, 1938, Serial No. 224,755 f '6 Claims. (CI. 6217) This invention relates to refrigerator cars used ,to transport perishable commodities at a prede-- termined temperature. The essential features of a refrigerator car are an insulated body to' prevent or retard ingress of heat during warm weather and egress of heat during cold weather" and a cooling or heating means depending upon the prevailing outside temperature.

This invention applies particularly to cars in vwhich the cooling means,'-pre'ferablycontainers for waterice, eutectic ice, brine or dry ice, are suspended immediately below the ceiling of the car. to the floor by a 'foraminous rack. Flues, preferably associated with the side walls of the car, communicate between the refrigerant compartment and the space under the floor rack to provide a path for the circulation of air. The path is from the refrigerant compartment downwardly through the aforementioned flues, through the space under the floor rack, and upwardly through thelading compartment to the refrigerant compartment.

It is an object of this inyention'to provide a flue extending continuously longitudinallyof thecar. This arrangement eliminates many obstructions found in conventional interrupted flues and provides more eflicient refrigerationby i'eason of greater freedom of circulation.

Another object of the invention is to utilize the wall space more effectively by extending the flue continuously longitudinally of the car. If the refrigeration is to be effective, the flue must have a certain required cross-secti nal area in a horizontal plane or a plane no al to the direction of air flow in the flue. Since an uninterrupted flue has a greater efiective' length, it may have correspondingly less width to provide the same area. It is a further'obje'ct, therefore, to provide a flue of less width. The space thus saved may be used to increase the insulation of the wall, to increase the inside width of the car, or to decrease the outside width of the car.

It is another object of the invention to provide a wall having insulation 'of uniform thickness throughout. This is. the most efflcient arrangement consistent with having a wall of minimum The lading is supported in spaced relation Anotherobject of the invention is to space the walls of the fiue'apart by spacers having their large dimension parallel with the flow of air so as not to restrict .said flow. v I

litisa further object to' provide a completely insulated flue. refrigerant compartment at a very low temperature and, if the .refrigeration'is to be eflicient,

- the air must reach the lading compartment without having been substantially warmed. Insulation on bothsides of-the flue insulates the air from influences outside and inside the car and insures air enteringthelading compartment at a low temperature.

In the drawings: Fig. 1 is a transverse section of a refrigerato car embodying my invention, the left half being on line lL-'|L ahdthe right half on line IR.'IR ofFig.'2. 1

Fig. 2 is a section on line 2-- -2 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

,g. 4 is a section on line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a sectionon line 5 5 of Fig. 4. Figs. 6 and '7 show modified constructions.

The circulatinglair leaves the The usual parts of a refrigerator car are shown in Fig. 1, such, as center sill 2; side sills 3; cross members] of the underframe; side sheathing passages M under the containers IO'; center walls l5 which form the duct l6; sub-floor l1; floor 18 and floor rack 19 which provides the space 201. Flues 25 are provided to communicate be-' tween the refrigerant compartments 26 and the space 20, said refrigerant compartment, 26 being below the'ceiling 52 and above the partition l3.'

The flues '25 provide'a path for the cold air to circulate from the refrigerant compartment 26 to the lading compartment 21 and also provide a draining means for meltedrefrigerant when an open type bunker-is used and for condensatio when a solid tank is used.. a

In Fig. 2 the side sheathing 5 is supported by ,outer'frame members which are supported preferably by angles mounted upon the side sills 3. The inner frame members 31 are arranged in staggered relation to the outer frame members 35 and are supported by and insulated from the underframe of the car.- The inner frame members 31 are shown channel-shaped with nailing strips 38 secured thereto, the frame members "being supportediby continuous angles are supported from the side sills 3 may be preferable. The lining 6 is preferably secured to the nailing strips 38. c 1

The flue 25 which is positioned between the sheathing 5 and the lining 6 is preferably formed from relatively thin metallic sheets 40 -4! ofiset 4.546 away from the frame members 35-31.

The sheets 40 are spaced apart by spacers 42 which preferably comprise vertically disposed plates which restrict air flow through the -flue 25 but very little.

Fig. 3 is a section adjacent the refrigerant compartment 26 showing one wall of the container 10. The sheet 40 extends upwardly only -to the partition I3 to allow an opening 43 adjacent the container [0 for communication between the refrigerant compartment 26 and the flue 25. Auxiliary members 44 are placed against the inner frame members 31 adjacent the refrigerant containers ID to protect said frame members from moisture due to the refrigerant.

The inner frame members 31 and the side wall flue sheets 40-41 are connectedto inner side plates which are preferably Z-bars. The sheet 4| has a sloping upper .portion 5| converging to the plane of the offset portion 46, thus facilitating attachment to the inner side plate 50. The ceiling 52 may be secured to the inner side plate 50, preferably by nailing strips 53. Clips 54 extend between the inner side plate 50 and the outer side plate I to stabilize the car structure. The refrigerant containers II] are preferably supported by members 55 extending between and secured to the inner side plates 50. V

Fig. 4 shows a section of the wall near the floor. The sheet 40 extends downwardly only to the floor rack l9 to provide an opening for communication between the flue 25 and the space 20.

Lower auxiliary members 6| protect the frame 12 forming the outer wall of the flue III has offset portions 13 adjacent the outer frame members having a substantially wave-like shape to allow members 3'! from moisture. A baflie plate 62 haV-- ing vertical portions 63 and sloping portions 64, as shown in Fig. 5, divert the flow of air and moisture from behind the frame member 31 to the opening 60. The flues 25 are provided with bottom portions 65 to prevent moisture from entering the insulation.

Fig. 6 shows a construction in which the flue I0 is between the sheathing and lining 6 and has insulation H on each side thereof. The sheet 35 and the sheet 14 forming the inner wall has offset portions 15 adjacent the inner frame 'members 31. Thin spacers 16 space the sheets 12-14 apart without materially restricting the air flow.

In Fig. '7 the flue 30 is formed by sheets Ill-82 the use of insulation blankets 83 of substantially constant thickness.

There are several advantages to the construction herein disclosed. By extending the flue 25 continuously longitudinally of the car, it is possible, in order to obtain equal flue area, to decrease the width, i. e., the distance between the sheets 40 and 4|. By offsetting the sheets 40- around the frame members 3531 it is possible to obtain the most emcient use of wall space, i. e.,

' air-is warmed but little as it flows downwardly through the flue, therefore, it reaches the lading compartment 21 at a low temperature and avides veryeflicient refrigeration. The spacers 42 inFig. 2 and '76 in Fig. 6 are preferably clips made of thin material spaced v intermittently throughout the flues so as not to interfere .with

air flow. g The accompanying drawings illustrate the preferred. form of the invention; though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modifications thereof,'within the scope of the claims, will occur to persons skilled in the art.

c 'I claim:

-1.In a"refrigerator car having a refrigerant compartment near the roof and a floor rack' spaced above the floor to provide a space therebetween, a wall comprising a sheathing, a lining supported by frame members and insulation be-. tween said sheathing and said lining, and a flue within said wall communicating between said compartment and said space and being substantially continuous longitudinally of the car, said 'by inner frame members and insulation between said sheathing and said lining, said inner frame members being staggered relative to said outer frame members, and a flue within said wall communicating between said compartment and said space and being substantiallycontinuous longitudinally of the car, said flue being adjacent said lining and being offset away from said frame .members.

3. In a refrigerator car having a refrigerant compartment near the roof and a floor rack spaced above the floor to provide a space therebetween, a wall comprising a sheathing supported by outer frame members, a lining supported 'by inner frame members and insulation between said sheathing and said lining, said inner frame members being staggered relative to said outer frame members, and a flue within said wall communicating between said compartment and said space and being substantially continuous longitudinally of the car, said flue having parts of said insulation on each side thereof and being offset away from said frame members.

4. In a refrigerator car having a refrigerant compartment near the roof and a floor rack spaced above the floor to provide a space there- .between, a wall comprising a sheathing, a lining and insulation between said sheathing and saidflue being adjacent said lining and being offset lining, and a flue within said wall communicating between said compartment and said space and being substantially continuous longitudinally of the car, said flue comprising metallic sheets spaced apart by relatively thin spacers so as not to restrict the flow of air through said flue said spacers being positioned remote from said frame members so as not to impair the insulation of said wall.

5. In a refrigerator car having a refrigerant compartment near the roof, and a floorrack spaced above the floor to provide a space there between, a wall comprising a sheathing support-- ed outer frame members, a lining supported by inner frame members, and insulation between said sheathing and said lining, said inner frame members being staggered relative to said outer frame members, and a due within said wall communicating between said compartment and said space and being substantially continuous longitudinally of the car, said flue being offset inwardly adjacent said outer frame members and outwardly adjacent said inner frame members 6. In a refrigerator car having a refrigerant 'frame members, and insulation between said sheathing and said lining, and a flue within said wall communicating between said compartment and said space and being substantially continuous longitudinally of the car, said'fiue being relatively thin adjacent said frame members and relatively thick between said frame members.

CHARLES E. CREDE. 

